From a clinician’s perspective, what are some of the unique advantages Home Hospital offers?
I think the nicest part about Home Hospital is that the patient load is small enough that you're able to provide really focused nursing care. For example, you may need to go a little bit slower for some patients to feel comfortable and to provide the patient with what they need, both emotionally as well as physically. Having a smaller patient load provides me the opportunity to spend flexible amounts of time in the home of a patient.
You can also establish that nurse-patient relationship very quickly, and many times it extends into a small friendship. A patient’s home is a nice starting point to open up dialogue and make them feel comfortable with you so that you can get a good assessment. You end up knowing a patient’s children’s names, their pet’s names, their favorite season, where they like to vacation and so much more. You learn a lot about somebody when you have the time to ask those types of questions. It helps ease a patient to ask ever day questions peppered in with the medical questions. I had one patient that loved Coca-Cola, like me. Eventually, each time I would visit, the patient would have a Coca-Cola waiting for me! It was a small but important action to help build a connection between us.
And now we understand you’ve transitioned to the Home Hospital Emergency Care program? Can you tell us a little about that?
Mass General Brigham Home Hospital Emergency Care is an Emergency Department avoidance pathway for qualifying patients. Across the board, Home Hospital delivers hospital-level services in the home, and with Home Hospital Emergency Care patients can be treated in their home for many conditions for which they would normally visit an urgent care or Emergency Department. Our paramedics will come to the patient’s home to provide treatment for episodic care, while partnering with a virtual Mass General Brigham Emergency Physician. My background in Emergency Nursing, and my recent experience as a Home Hospital nurse, attracted me to this innovative model.
What inspires you at work?
When I'm having a bad day with traffic or feeling overtired, I think about the patients I've connected with and remember, this is why I do this every day. It re-inspires me and it's a wonderful feeling. I always encourage every nurse to come over to Home Hospital because they will love it.
